7 Quick Takes - Vol. 26

Linking up with Jen and the other Quick Takers.

1. Charles' graduation is officially one year from yesterday! 364 days. Not that anyone is counting or anything. We're going to this year's graduation later this morning -- Charles is really excited, and I'm being a good wife. Needless to say, next year will be a very different story.

Via

2. Yesterday, he rocked (I can say that because he felt good about it, which is rare for him as a test-taker, so I am confident saying as much) his professional exam. I'm a proud wife, too.

3. Meanwhile, yesterday was one of those mornings. I hadn't slept well because Charles was in Philly for his test. The baby woke up early, clearly with teething problems, since she was crying and pathetically holding her mouth. So sad. I thought I had a chance to get her back to sleep when the sprinklers for the back yard started -- and one of the drip ends blew, sending water allllllllllllll over the patio for a 4-or-whatever minute cycle. When that was done, we were up. I was glad for coffee. Leaving it at that.

Random baby pic to break up the talk-talk-talk

4. Grace has this cool link-up of people's favorites posts from their own blogs. I spent a lot of my waiting-for-hubby-to-get-home time last night reading through the entries. It's gives a real feeling of what a blog and person are about when you see the favorite posts. I linked this one, which I actually just hit publish on yesterday, but am proud of. I also thought about this one about Mother's Day and this one about motherhood. I don't know. I feel weird being publicly proud of my writing. Not all of it, certainly. But some of it.

5. I love the goal-setting energy of the 30 Under 30 lists that I've seen popping up around the ol' www. I would consider it, but that ship has sailed. 30 Under 40? 40 Under 40? Is 40 really the next milestone? Does 40 seem this old to all early 30s types? Cue existential crisis.

6. Do you ever get to Take 4 or 5 or 6 (or 2 or 3) and, running low on ideas scroll through your camera/phone to see if you have any unblogged photos to use as filler? Just me? Okay. That didn't just happen.

Any-way, a couple of weeks ago, we harvested our first tomatoes of the year. We aren't 100% happy with the quality, but we're happy to have them. We made some beginners mistakes that we won't repeat. All of that said, there is some real pride in food that you actually grew. Yourself. *happy sigh*

7. I don't know if you've been following Dweej's saga, but she needs prayers, so if you're willing, I know she'd appreciate it.


Have a most lovely weekend!

My Baby Girl

I'm calling it. Clare's first word, word that she clearly, discriminately knows, is "baby." I mean, of course she's not perfect; she's not even 11 months old. Even so, she says it, identifies it, crawls to it, steals it off the fridge.

Happy early morning with Baby.

I watch as my baby holds her baby, babbling and giving it sweet, open-mouth baby kisses.

I think about her vocation. How God already has a plan for her. About how our job as parents is to foster a love for God deep enough that she may hear His voice when the time comes.

I think about our call to motherhood. How, as women, we are all called to motherhood, in one way or another.

I think of her call (I hope) to be a big sister. To lead and love her siblings -- her lot in life as the first born.

I can't help but think ahead to that future moment when I see my baby -- all grown up and facing the world -- hold her baby -- a tiny, precious new life.

I weep.

Medical Mondays - Vol.2

Linking up for another Medical Monday with Your Doctor's Wife, From a Doctor's Wife, and The Unconventional Doctor's Wife.

So, here we are.

Charles is, for all intents and purposes, done with his 3rd year. We are in some state of disbelief. Moving on to 4th year seems surreal. This week, we'll hit the one-year-to-graduation mark. We've already passed the one-year-to-the-last-day-of-the-last-rotation. The time is going to fly. I look back on how much has changed in the last year. I think about how much can and will change in another year.

Blog repeat, but studying with Dad is too cute!

He has two biggies looming on the horizon: boards. Mr. Obsessive About Boards (aren't all medical types?) knows he won't relax until he finishes all of his Step 2 stuff, so he's taking the professional exam on Thursday and has the written part a month later. Even though he won't be on rotation for the next month, it won't be vacation. He'll be studying his little head off.

I'm still basking in the summery-ness of it all, though. Even if he's studying all day, it will be nice knowing that he can get up with the sun, the baby and I (not earlier), and that we can climb into bed together at night. I'll know for sure when I can serve dinner. We have plans for a date. We have a first birthday party to plan. We have an anniversary to look forward to.

This weekend, I found out that we have one more sure source of ridiculousness to look forward to, at least for a few more days: me as a standardized patient. More times than I care to admit, I've been roped into being a pretend standardized patient. The thing, though, is that I'm really, really bad at it. I don't have a good idea of a coherent set of symptoms. I spend more time inventing my character (I'm a method-actress standardized patient, clearly) than my symptoms. Some of our best memories from the last few years have been the result of my "patients" and their antics. I'm sure that between now and Thursday, I'll inadvertently send us into fits of giggles at least once.

The fits of giggles. The happy memories. The things to look forward to. Life really is good.

Sunday Best

So, I have never linked up with the FLAP girls for myriad reasons. The two most important are 1) I wear the same handful of nice things to Mass pretty much all the time, so my posts would get repetitive quickly, and 2) I tend to not last long in my Mass clothes either before running out the door or after we get back home.

Not actually worn on Sunday, but eh, I like pictures in my posts.

In Clare's early days, there was spit-up involved in all those decisions that are now habit.

Anyway, my lack of selfie taking aside, I love the chance (thanks, Grace!) to grade my little Tornado's Mass behavior.

Today she was okay. She was pretty much quiet as long as you were standing and holding her and possibly moving. In other words, it was awful.

She gets a D. 

I am generous. I was going to give her a C- (mostly because I know it could be worse -- she could know how to walk). Charles voted for an F. I convinced him to raise it to a D because "she was quiet if you held her just right."

Grace has outfits and report cards. Enjoy!

7 Quick Takes, Vol. 25

1. I didn’t post 7QT or 5 Faves in the last week. I needed a little link-up/blogging break. I didn’t have much to say, so I decided not to say it instead of spending time filling the screen with my blathering. But now, I’m ba-ack! Even if it is already Saturday. I only have nominally more to say, but I’ll say it, by golly!

2. Charles is D.O.N.E. done with his 3^rd year. No more rotations or clinic days or anything. He says he won’t “feel like it” until he finishes board exams in the next month or so, but since they aren’t required for promotion, I say he’s done. 4^th year, bring.it.on.

3. My chatterbox’s discernible vocabulary has expanded to include “Dada,” “Mama,” “Baybee,” “Puhpee,” and “’appy ‘appy ‘appy” (always in triple). At least to our ears. It might not be particularly exact, and she will.not.do.anything. on command. Ever. Because she’s that kind of kid (funner toddler or teenager?). But she is a verbose genius.

Deciding how do style her locks.

4. I seem to be using a lot of emphatic periods in this post. Reasons? None in particular. Grammar strike? Perhaps.

5. I’ve been horrified by all the tornado terror in the last few weeks. Inhumane if you aren’t, I guess. Natural disasters are, to me, much more frightening that most anything. I mean, no human is in control. *shudder* Scary stuff. I’ve been sending up lots of prayers for those affected.

6. In the last day or so, Clare suddenly discovered how much of the kitchen she can access by opening the doors. Did you know that you can open doors that don’t have hardware on them? I was sort of hoping she’d never figure it out. Anyway, this is her “helping make dinner last night.” Her contribution? Air, slobber, and some Cheerios/stuff on the floor. Mmmm . . . doesn’t it make you hungry?

7. Um, it’s June. That’s means July is in a month. That means it’s summer. That means . . . I have some plans to get in order. Where did the time go? I keep asking, but seriously? Where did it goooooooooo?

Speaking of going, go ye off to Jen’s to read more thoughts from more people, many of whom got their acts together to post on Friday like good bloggers.